Transformers Regenerated: Scavengers, Chapter Ten

CHAPTER TEN

--Metroplex--

    "Axe, this is Devcon. Do you read me?"

    Axe groaned as he came to, his head still aching from the blast Spacewarp had shot him with. Turning on his comm, he said groggily, "I'm 'ere."

    "Axe, I need you to do something incredibly crazy," Devcon said over the comm.

    "I'm listening," Axe said, immediately getting to his feet.

    "I want you to get Metroplex to transform."

    Axe's mouth gaped open. That was incredibly crazy. "And how exactly am I supposed to do that?" he asked.

    "I don't know -- go to his brain module and talk to him or something. I've seen Dai Atlas go into his brain chamber before."

    "Didn't Atlas also say that Metroplex would likely die if he transformed?" Axe asked pointedly.

    "I hate to say this but that's the idea," Devcon said gravely. "Trust me when I say this, Axe, but death is probably the best option he has."

    Axe was about to protest but the call was ended on Devcon's end; whether intentionally or not, he wasn't sure. He let out a sigh before setting off to carry out his objective. He hoped Devcon knew what he was asking of him, and that whatever situation had arisen truly called for it.

    He also wondered if he would go down in history as the first bot to convince a Titan to commit suicide.

--Outside--

    "You know, no offense," Misfire said as he and the Scavengers explored the Harbinger's interiors, "but this is not the most exciting crashed ship we've explored."

    Fulcrum had to agree. Other than a few dead bodies in some of the corridors, there wasn't much of note in the ship.

    "That was kind of the point, I think," Crankcase said, turning over the body of one of his former crewmates. "Megatron probably didn't want anyone finding the Requiem Blaster, so he picked the ship that was the least likely to be sought after."

    "Kinda funny, when you think about it," Misfire quipped. "Given, you know, the Star Seekers were looking for it and those other guys were looking for it and--"

    "We get it, Misfire," Krok said. "You don't need to explain the joke." After attempting -- and failing -- to get useful data from the Harbinger's computer, he turned over to Crankcase. "We're wasting our time here. Where's the cargo hold?"

    With a grunt, Crankcase led them to the ship's aft, where the cargo hold was. There they found dozens of crates, all containing drained energon rations and other useless items. While the others rummaged through the boxes, Fulcrum sat against the wall, resenting his lot in life. He rested his head against the wall in self-pity and was immediately sent flying up in the air by an abruptly opening hatch.

    The others heard his wail and rushed over to him, only to promptly ignore him upon seeing what the hatch revealed.

    "...Big boom-boom stick?" Spinister asked.

    "Yes, Spinister," Krok murmured, just as stunned as everyone else. "That's our boom-boom stick."

    Misfire walked over to the Requiem Blaster, admiring its black and red design. He then gently picked it up, treating it like a sleeping driller worm, before turning to the other Scavengers with a huge grin.

    "Face it, fellas. We just hit the jackpot."

--Metroplex--

    "Nickel, iron, cobalt, chrome; he'll eat your soul."

    Axer tried to keep calm as he followed the singing voice. He still wasn't sure he could do this, but he knew he had to try.

    "Turn your spark to stone."

    He was getting closer now, he could tell. He had only seconds left to change his mind.

    "Nickel, iron, cobalt, chrome; run, little robot."

    The spark chamber. He was in Metroplex's spark chamber.

    "Run away home."

    Axer came roaring into the room, where he found the Hunter standing before the Titan's spark. The ex-Decepticon transformed to robot mode and deployed his signature weapon.

    "Stop, Hunter!" he called out. "I command you!"

    The Hunter turned to face him, his monstrous visage bearing no expression. "Command me?" he said. "No one commands me. I am slave to no one but myself."

    "Hunter, please. I don't know what it is you plan on doing, but it has to stop. Lives are at stake."

    "Lives? Of whom? You? Those pirates? Those who claim to follow Primus?" The Hunter scoffed. "They are worthless to me. You are worthless to me."

    Axer's mind raced. It was clear that reasoning would be futile. "What are you doing then?" he asked instead. "Why... why is this spark important to you? Why did you take Beta Maxx?"

    "Life gives me strength," the Hunter hissed. "The stronger the spark, the stronger I become. And as for the Mini-Con...."

    The Hunter raised his clenched fist, in which he held the mangled, barely alive form of Beta Maxx.

    "Every power source needs a conduit."

    Axer was at a loss for words. Although he may have had little care for others, he still could not stand to see a life be so carelessly used.

    "You're insane," he finally managed to say. "You see life as nothing more than a... resource?"

    "Every sparks exists to fuel me," the Hunter said as he slowly raised his other hand. "Including yours."

    Axer suddenly felt an extremely sharp pain in his spark, causing him to keel over. He opened his mouth to scream...

    And all that came out was a ball of light.

--Outside--

    Cannonball lunged at Dai Atlas, letting out a raged yell. His arm blades clashed against the other's Great Sword, their weapons locking. As the pirate pushed his weight into the attack, he sneered at Dai Atlas.

    "You do realize you are outnumbered, don't you?" he snarled. "A hundred of us against a dozen of you."

    "Numbers mean little," Dai Atlas retorted, using all of his might to push back. "With Primus on our side, we shall prevail."

   Cannonball laughed harshly. "You think God will let you win? You think Primus always picks the 'good guys?'"

    He broke off from the sword-lock, before delivering a kick to Atlas' abdomen. As the latter staggered back, Cannonball moved in for the kill but Dai Atlas deflected his next attack.

    "Maybe not always," Dai Atlas said. "But given his options, I'd say he could do far worst."

    Cannonball scowled and raised his blades for another blow, until a distant holler caught his attention.

    Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked to see the Scavenger Misfire standing on a tall heap of junk, carrying a massive gun.

    The Requiem Blaster, Cannonball realized in surprise.

    "Hello, beautiful femmes and handsome mechs!" the magenta Decepticon called from his perch, waving excitedly. "I hate to interrupt your little playtime, but I have an important statement to make."

    He rested the Requiem Blaster on his shoulder and aimed it at the two fighting parties, grinning widely.

    "Misfire rules."

    He pulled the trigger and the gun released a huge wave of energy, the recoil sending him flying back. Pirates and knights alike dove for cover, but the blast barely even reached them. 

    Instead, it went straight for Metroplex.

--Metroplex--

    By the time Axe reached Metroplex's mind chamber, the world went spinning.

    Once everything had stopped and he could tell the floor apart from the ceiling, he got back up to see that the whole place had been torn apart and all power was pretty much out.

    Turning on his comm, he said, "Devcon? This is Axe. Everything all right?"

   "If by everything you're asking if I'm okay, then yeah, I'm swell. But otherwise, no, everything's not all right."

    Axe cursed to himself before looking back at Metroplex's brain module. While it looked externally unscathed, he doubt that the same could be said for the inside.

    "Metroplex?" he asked tentative, unsure if this was the proper way to speak to Titans. "Are... you okay?"

    No response. Then again, he wasn't sure he would've gotten one regardless of the circumstances.

    Devcon's voice was back on the other end. "You know what, Axe, forget about that plan I had."

    "Why? What's going on?"

    "Bad stuff, Axe. Really, really bad stuff."